


Staggering Developments

by bwinkbear



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, One Shot, inspired by a wonderful fic, lilu ily mwah, this is and i repeat the ONE time im writing sufin lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:49:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bwinkbear/pseuds/bwinkbear
Summary: Inspired by liluwrite's "Underneath This Sky"Berwald's cousin Matthias had always had a thing for Lukas Bondevik. But that was in high school. Why was he applying for a job at Ber's bakery now?
Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), Finland/Sweden (Hetalia)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	Staggering Developments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [liluwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liluwrites/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Underneath This Sky](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857160) by [liluwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liluwrites/pseuds/liluwrites). 



> if you're an outsider looking in i strongly suggest you check out Underneath This Sky by liluwrites first! it's a much better story than what i have to offer lol. just wanted to expand on the universe a lil, which i'll elaborate on later. please enjoy this dumb little thing!

Lukas Bondevik.

Berwald was quite familiar with the name, had almost been plagued by it growing up, really. It was satisfying to have a face to accompany the title at last. 

Ever since he and his cousin Matthias were in high school, it was always "Lukas baked cookies for the class party" this, and "Lukas had a really funny presentation today" that. It seemed Matthias was infatuated with him, regardless of whether he would actually talk to the poor guy or not. 

Berwald took a bit of pride in owning up to his sexuality at an early age, having worked up the courage to ask his crush Tino to the prom their last year of school together. It paid off, didn't it? The two were married now running a small bakery together, and adopted a kid to boot. He couldn't say the same for his poor cousin, who eventually had just dropped this Lukas from his vocabulary as high school turned to adulting. Those girlfriends he held on his shoulder during those years never made him nearly as happy as Lukas did, but to both cousins it seemed a lost cause. Matthias had decided his fate, choosing his social status over his happiness. To each their own. 

So it was very peculiar to see Lukas here in Berwald's office now, awaiting a job interview. Matthias didn't offer much context over the phone, just that  _ "Lukas got laid off and you know he can bake! Match made in heaven, huh?" _ Maybe the part about how he came in contact with Lukas again wasn't super important to Matthias. Damn idiot. 

If it was an interview Lukas wanted and his closeted cousin begged from him, then an interview he would have. Lukas was soft-spoken, tired, desperate. Nothing like the teen Matthias had described for all those years. His life seemed quiet yet hectic, he had this brother he took care of in the evenings-  _ Emil. _ Supposedly Matthias would be looking after his brother most days, but it was still information worth noting in case of an emergency. Matthias was already involving himself in Lukas's life to such a degree…

Maybe he was finally working on his unrequited feelings for Lukas after all this time. Berwald should've considered Lukas's work history and skill-sets a little bit more during the interview, but he'd heard enough by that point. His cousin had earned his evenings in Lukas's life, stupid and invasive as this plan clearly was. Gotta throw the dog a bone sometimes. 

Lukas was a diligent worker, always kept himself busy with that next batch of brownies or cleaning out the piping tips whenever he wasn't entertaining a customer. He didn't look too enthused at work, certainly wasn't as cheery as Tino was behind the counter, but Berwald didn't mind cutting the kid some slack. It was clear his mind was always somewhere else, and that was probably at home with his brother. Ought to let him keep that roof over his head a while longer, customer service be damned. 

There had been a passing conversation or two between Tino and Lukas about their personal lives, Tino having been informed about Matthias's arrangement with him, but Lukas made it clear that Matthias was simply coming over to watch Emil. He was an _idiot_ to him. Maybe he would stay over for dinner or try to help Emil with his homework, but not much else. It was left at that. 

Berwald found it interesting how much Lukas had in common with his cousin after all. 

Eventually Lukas had relaxed, not by much, but to a noticeable degree which was nice. He would hum to himself over the sound of the food processor crushing cookie crumbs, he would make eye contact with a customer or two when delivering their goods, he would sometimes even smile! Tino was still adamant about making conversation with him, not to too much success, but there didn't seem to be as much cold-shouldering going on as before. 

It wasn't until Lukas had come back from his week of holiday that the couple had picked up on any real changes in behavior. 

Lukas seemed genuinely happy. Not just happy in the way that he could get the busted coffee machine in the office to work again, but happy in a way that suggested he'd be going home without a worry after every shift despite the circumstances that were made clear the minute he took the job. 

It  _ had _ to have been Matthias.

No one said anything. Nosy Tino didn't ask any questions this go-around and let the kid be, and Berwald would only send a quick message to his cousin just to rub it in.

"Took you long enough, idiot."

But as quickly as these changes began, they came to a grinding halt; just like that, Day One Lukas Bondevik was working the counter again. There was no more work talk with Tino, instead Lukas seemed to find him in-the-way and wanted to take on all the menial tasks himself. That original humming over the food processor was replaced with incessant mumbling, never louder than a whisper if he could help it. Inside of the spatula drawer they'd even found a flask Lukas had hidden.

Both Tino and Berwald had tried reaching out to Lukas, trying to get a grasp on what was bothering him so much lately, but each attempt was quickly denied with a tense frown and an "I'm fine." 

Soft-spoken. Tired. Desperate.

One day, their son Peter was feeling ill of a fever and they couldn't get a sitter on short notice. A compromise was reached and he spent the day in Berwald's office. For what little Lukas had seen of the eight year old, there was something in him that softened each time they would cross paths. Berwald taking him to the bathroom in the Pizza Hut across the street, watching him get fixed a quick lunch, witnessing the times Tino would break from his shift to say hi and check up on his sick child. 

Lukas had stopped Tino once he left Berwald's office for the third time that day. "Go be with him. I'll take over for the day. Really." 

Tino only smiled as he reapplied his latex gloves. "He'll be okay, Ber's got an eye on him. Peter may be young but he's quite the fighter! I'll let you guess where he gets that trait from."

Lukas didn't press the topic any more after that, but his quick glances to Tino and the office door weren't as subtle as he might've hoped the rest of the shift. 

It took another month before Lukas seemed wholly comfortable again. Berwald just so happened to be standing by the register when he caught sight of Lukas smiling  _ with his teeth _ at a lady who ordered three blueberry muffins. It was his turn to be nosy now.

"Matthias still come over?" It was near closing when Berwald had asked, Lukas quickly wiping the tables for the night. 

"Yeah... Never stopped." 

Berwald continued to watch Lukas, disheveled as he always was after a long day's work and powdered with flour among his apron and cheeks. He'd always made an effort to tell Lukas about his face, but his tips were forgotten as quickly as they were brought up. It didn't make sense to tell him about the flour now if he was never gonna remember to wipe it off.

It wasn't such a hard thing to take care of, damn idiot.

"Matthias always did like your baking, it's no wonder he wanted you to work here. Heard y'made cookies for a class party?"

Lukas paused mid-gesture, abandoning his rag in the middle of the circular tabletop to look at Berwald. "That was so long ago- surprised that jackass remembers." 

"He remembered a lot of things about you. Don't suppose he ever told you how long he spent tryin' to learn Norse mythology just to impress ya?" 

"Hm." Lukas tossed the wet rag carelessly in his custodian's cart and lifted a foot to its wheel, preventing the sudden pressure from letting it roll down the shop. "Dunno why he wasted all that effort if he was never gonna talk to me. Thought the bastard was straight for the longest time, if you could believe it." 

Berwald breathed a laugh, grateful someone else found the irony in the idea of his cousin being straight. It was like an inside joke he could finally share!

"Here, why don't you bring Matthias some of today's batch?" Tino had walked in from the kitchen holding a large paper bag filled with the double fudge cookies they had left over from the day, having no doubt been listening in on their conversation while cleaning up. Berwald and Tino were quite the pair.

Lukas accepted the bag after wiping his hands down his apron, offering a ghost of a smile through the corners of his lips. "S'not like he hasn't been mooching off my baking the past few months, but I'm sure these'll get eaten nonetheless." 

The young romantic parted ways for the evening, and as Berwald was closing up the bakery, he couldn't help but feel rather secure in his life. He had a loving husband, a happy child to come home to, and just around the corner a cousin that was keeping his employee in a better mood. 

Lukas Bondevik was a name Berwald had grown quite attached to himself. 

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this sleep-deprived lmaoo
> 
> lilu i apologize i needed more of ber's bakery in your story, had to do it myself. figured since we never got to see what lukas was up to at work it would be nice to see his changes in character though the lenses of his employer. also i have been itching to write sweden in general, he's fun! about time i gave the guy some love. 
> 
> (cries why am i exclusively writing nordic bakery fics rn)


End file.
